Baby Grand
by AndromedaMarine
Summary: “I don’t remember Mom as well as I’d like. I hear just about everyone mention her but you...it’s almost like you’ve forgotten her. I just want to know what happened.” John’s hands balled into tight fists, his knuckles turning white. Sequel to Metronome.
1. Of Flying Lessons and Pent Up Anger

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

**Author's Note: Sequel to "Metronome."**

_Of Flying Lessons and Pent-Up Anger_

When Katrina Elizabeth Sheppard woke the next morning the first thing she noticed was the metronome had been replaced on her shelf. The older child dressed, her mind mulling over the odd events of the previous night. It was the first time in years she'd woken to hear her father at the baby grand.

John Sheppard was the quiet genius on Atlantis, as opposed to Rodney. Closet math whiz, piano protégé, and surprisingly good with kids, the military commander had become the pushover dad on base. Katrina was smart and tactful enough to avoid asking John about his playing the piano. His daughter knew John rarely touched the instrument following Elizabeth's tragic death.

Her father was pulling on his combat boots when she left her room. He looked up, a sad expression in his eyes and a forced smile on his mouth. "Good morning, Kat. You're up early. Want to join your old man for breakfast?"

Katrina nodded, not trusting herself with words. They passed Evan and Rodney in the corridor, both of whom were escorting their own children to unspecified locations.

Elizabeth Weir-Sheppard was a touchy subject in their family and, in tandem, the city. Katrina thought over what to say to her father about the piano. They sat near the balcony door. "You're unusually quiet this morning, Kat," John observed. "It's not often I don't hear you talking up a storm."

Katrina grimaced. "Dad, about that..."

John looked up from his plate with an unreadable expression.

"I don't remember Mom as well as I'd like. I hear just about everyone mention her but you...it's almost like you've forgotten her. I just want to know what happened."

John's hands balled into tight fists, his knuckles turning white.

"I just...want to know _who_ she was."

John kept his eyes averted from his daughter's. "This is not the time or the place, Katrina. Eliz...Elizabeth died for this city. Do not ask me again in public." He refrained from training his gaze on the child who every day reminded him of Elizabeth's long-gone face and smile, as tears worked their way into his eyes. "Have a good class today," he continued stiffly. "I believe Evan will train you on the Jumpers." He stood quickly and practically stomped away.

Eleven years hadn't distanced John's heart from Elizabeth's memory.

----

_Elizabeth cooed at the young boy situated in the crib. John stood behind her, his older child Katrina in his arms. The colonel studied Elizabeth's distinctive features, storing them in his permanent memory. Their lives were perfect – the Wraith were finally being taken down, the last of the Replicators were crushed in the vacuum of space for eternity, and Earth had sent two more Daedalus-class ships protect Atlantica._

_Their son had just turned one, and Katrina had reached the young age of three. John couldn't believe his luck in the universe – a wonderful, loving wife, two precious children, and a city of friends supporting his role in the job he loved. It was no surprise hat children on Atlantis were becoming as common as adults; at least Katrina and Jack would have semi-normal lives._

_John and Elizabeth were joined in marriage for five years before the civilian leader was killed in a renegade-Wraith ambush on a supposedly "diplomatic" mission. He swore never to forget her; to never let the flow of their fingers across the keys be lost in the grief. His children grew without a true mother. Katrina quietly noticed that the ring of gold never left his finger, a testament to his lost connection of true love; that the piano would inevitably be alone and silent._

_Jack Sheppard saw that a cloud of sadness always surrounded his father. Colleagues would become silent as he approached if they had been talking about Elizabeth, whose name eventually became taboo. Soon her name was never said in public._

_To the Sheppard children it felt as if their mother hadn't existed at all. Kat and Jack soon found ways to overhear conversations without being caught and learned the small details about their mother that John had never mentioned. Was it really true that the Genii had captured Atlantis and held Elizabeth and Rodney captive? Was it true that John had risked his life during the same storm to save their mother? Why wasn't this worthy of recognition – of praise? Why was her memory a forbidden thing on Atlantis? She'd led them to Pegasus, and died to protect Atlantis. John knew she wouldn't have had it any other way, yet he couldn't bring himself to let go. _

_He would not forget._

----

Katrina couldn't concentrate on the Jumper controls. Evan was in the co-pilot's seat, giving her instructions that she didn't hear. He snapped his fingers in front of her glazed-over eyes. The thought crossed his mind – he was glad he'd flown them to the plain on the mainland. There weren't any trees to knock over. "Kat," he said impatiently. "Katrina Elizabeth Sheppard, pay attention!" He never liked using her full name, but when she wouldn't pay attention to him he had to. "Katrina!"

The girl blinked twice and focused her gaze on the colonel. "Hmm?"

Evan slumped back in the seat, a hand over his eyes. "I swear you're about as bad as my Gideon..." he muttered. "Grip the controls, Kat. Let the gene power the engine and think of the HUD."

Katrina didn't do anything he said. She released the controls and mimicked his slump, falling backwards into the seat back. "Honestly, Colonel," she insisted.

Evan practically choked. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" he asked. To him 'colonel' was still way too formal for his best friend's daughter to be calling him. "To everyone it's Evan or simply Lorne. 'Everyone' meaning you too."

Katrina rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Evan," she rephrased. "I think I might be going mad." She bit her lip and stared absentmindedly at the in-ship DHD. "Why won't anyone talk about my mom? Why does my dad act like it's a foothold situation whenever I mention her?"

Evan rubbed his chin, sighing. "Kat...you've got to understand that this isn't my place to talk about Elizabeth – your mom. I understand that you want to know who she was and why no one talks about her...but I can't be the one to tell you. Your dad has a lot to deal with on top of her passing – that's right...he still hasn't gotten over her. I think if I were in his position I wouldn't either, but that doesn't change the fact that she died for the city."

Kat groaned. "See – just like that: 'she died for the city.' That's all I ever hear about her. There aren't any pictures in his quarters, no memory of her except the damn baby grand piano and the stupid metronome that I'm beginning to wonder even belonged to her! I don't even know her...and I miss her."

Evan looked like he was in pain. He was so overly-grateful that his son, Gideon, didn't have to go through the same thing – thanks to John himself Laura was still alive.

"And another thing," she continued, "he can't look at me without being reminded of her."

The lieutenant-colonel squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I wish I could say I understand...but the fact-of-the-matter is I don't. It may not be my place to tell you...but if you really want to know without getting me or yourself in trouble..."

"What?" Kat asked eagerly.

"Go bother Rodney."


	2. Of Annoying Scientists and Honest Friend

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

_Of Annoying Scientists and Honest Friends_

Katrina's face fell slightly. "Rodney? What could he know? He's quieter than everybody about her."

Evan chuckled, shaking his head. "Meredith Rodney McKay knows more about Elizabeth Weir than anyone in the universe. He was partnered with the SGC before she was – that's how far up he's been. If you really want to know about your mother then trust me – go bother McKay." The military commander's daughter gripped the controls again, focusing on bringing up the HUD. Suddenly it appeared on the window and Evan clapped. "Good – now pull towards you and up, like in a plane, and level out to hover."

To Katrina it was slightly epic, flying a Jumper for the first time. She couldn't believe her father had restricted her from learning the ropes until she was fifteen and a half – and he wasn't even scheduled to teach her.

"Now concentrate on moving forward – push forward on the controls but keep them towards the top – don't push down." Katrina accomplished moving forward the length of a football field. She gave a little squeal and the Jumper began to jostle. Evan seized the copilot controls and steadied the ship as Katrina calmed her hyperventilating. "Yeah...you've got to remember to keep a calm head – I know it's exciting the first time, but don't forget to keep it steady." He set the Jumper back on the ground. "Perhaps I should fly us back..." he muttered, unbuckling his harness.

As Katrina unbuckled hers about a million things ran through her mind. "You honestly think Uncle Rodney will tell me?"

Evan chuckled again. "Perhaps if you ask him nicely...and threaten him with a lemon." He slid easily into the pilot's seat. "I'm kidding about the lemon part. Rodney'd kill me if he found out it was me who let that little tidbit of information leak out." He buckled up again and lifted the Jumper into the air, shooting them back towards the city.

"Evan..." Katrina asked slowly, "can you tell me one thing?"

"Depends on what it is," he replied, glancing at her.

"Did my mum...did she suffer?"

Evan's mouth set in a straight, tight line. His eyes steely, he said, "Elizabeth was brave. I can't say anything else."

Slowly the giant spires of the city came into view, one of the two suns setting slowly behind the control tower. The colonel took the Jumper into the bay and landed it gently, powered down the engines and quickly stood to leave Katrina to her thoughts. "Uncle...wait," she said. She hadn't called him 'uncle' in over six years.

Evan stopped with his hand on the back door of the Jumper, frozen in place.

"Uncle Evan."

"Yes, Katrina?"

She paused, still seated. "Thanks for everything."

He nodded curtly once and left.

----

Rodney was hunched over an Ancient device, fiddling with an array of unfamiliar controls. "Aw, come on!" he complained when the device remained inert. He almost threw it across the room and was grateful he didn't when he saw Katrina in the doorway. "Oh, hello Kat," he said absentmindedly. "What brings you here?"

Kat picked up the device and smiled when it lit up.

"Hey – how'd you do that?" Rodney demanded, snatching it from her. "Oh, never mind," he continued. "You and your _gene_. Bloody flyboy and his _superior_ DNA..." He examined the small machine and completely ignored his best friend's daughter for a full minute before she cleared her throat at him. "Sorry, Kat... What did you need?"

"What...what was my mother like?" she asked casually, hoping Rodney wouldn't notice the hope in her voice at finding out about Elizabeth.

Rodney froze as well; his hands poised over one of his many laptops. "Who told you to ask me?" he asked quietly, eyes boring into Katrina's.

"That doesn't matter. Please, Rodney, I just want to know."

He sighed heavily, showing his age. "I suppose it was Lorne, then. No matter – I'll deal with him later." He shoved the laptop away and gestured for Katrina to sit. "Ah...I guess I should start from the beginning then, eh?"

Katrina nodded.

"Elizabeth...Elizabeth was an amazing woman. She was strong in every way – except to the charms of your father. At first it seemed an unlikely match, but oh, how we were wrong. They were overjoyed to be together...after months of courting each other the agony of everyone watching them was finally over when John proposed. I suppose it was the best that the IOA chose not to interfere because it was only a few months later that Ronon and Jennifer married, as did Lorne and Cadman, and Katie and me. When you were born it was as if an angel had blessed the city, because it was another beginning in Atlantis – the second generation of new Lanteans. Elizabeth was strong in her leadership, even through the many disasters, tragedies and sacrifices she had to make...ending with her own life." He cleared his throat and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. "John's going to kill me for telling you..."


	3. Of John and Elizabeth Sheppard

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

_Of John and Elizabeth Sheppard_

"John is _so_ going to kill me..."

"Go on," Katrina insisted, leaning forward. "Please?"

Her uncle sighed. "Kat, I wish it were easy enough to tell in a few words, but the truth is – it's not." He stood and turned so his back was facing her. "We were ashamed of how she died – at the time it seemed so trivial that it killed her, because she'd survived through so much before..." Unexpectedly, he gave a small laugh, causing Katrina to frown. "I'm sorry, Kat... But the truth – the truth is that no one knows what happened to her."

Katrina's jaw rested comfortably on the floor. "What?" she gasped.

Rodney grimaced. "I told you John'd kill me..."

"_Rodney, get back to the 'Gate, NOW!" John yelled, firing his P90 at the renegade Wraith closing in on their position. "Take her with you! I'll cover you – go, now!" He fired another round at the Wraith closest to Rodney and Elizabeth, panicking about the beast's proximity. _

_He failed to notice the Dart zooming towards their position, and only heard it at the last second when Rodney screamed, "Scatter!!" He shoved Elizabeth away from him as Darts normally headed for groups of humans, barreled towards the tree line near the gate and didn't take a second glance back._

_It seemed the Wraith had accomplished their mission because they dialed the gate and left rather quickly, eliciting a sigh of relief from Rodney but a cry of anguish from the General. "Where the hell did they go?" he screamed at Rodney, who poked his head out from behind a tree._

"_What? How should I know?"_

_John's eyes were dark with anger. "Don't you tell me you didn't look at the DHD, you _idiot_!"_

_Rodney sputtered, scanning the clearing. It dawned on him: Elizabeth wasn't there. The pin dropped with a rather large echo. Elizabeth had been taken by the Wraith and they had absolutely no idea where she'd been taken. John had fallen to his knees, shuddering with tears. Teyla dropped to his side and helped him back up. _

"_John, we must return to Atlantis before they come back."_

"_Why would they come back?" John demanded. "They got what they came for. They took her. And now we can't track her – who knows where they've gone?"_

_Teyla didn't have an answer for him. He still had two children on Atlantis, waiting for their mother and father to return – but only one would. John's worst fear had come true. He'd lost Elizabeth._

_Rodney couldn't speak, let alone remember how to breathe. Ronon had an irresistible urge to slap the back of Rodney's head with as much force as possible, but a glare from Teyla prevented him. It wasn't Rodney's fault, but the scientist would always blame himself. _

_Lorne and SGA-2 sped into the clearing from the east. Seeing only four of the original five they'd been separated from, Lorne's face went stiff. "Where is Elizabeth?" he asked, and Ronon shook his head. "Oh my God..." he muttered. "What address did they go to? Rodney!"_

_McKay couldn't bring himself to look at the Colonel. _

"_Rodney?"_

"_There isn't one," he practically squeaked. "They left before I got a look." He was telling the truth._

_Lorne's eyes widened with shock and he could feel the tension in the team behind him. "She's gone and you don't know where they took her?" he asked incredulously. "McKay, how in the _hell_ could you let that happen?"_

_Ronon advanced on Colonel Lorne; a warning that it wasn't Rodney's fault but that the Wraith were to blame. "It was an ambush, Lorne. It's no one's fault."_

"_What can we do to find her?" Evan asked, his temper slightly more under control. "Rodney, can't you figure out the last address dialed?"_

_The scientist nodded, his face sickly pale. _

_But no matter what, John could not be consoled._

Katrina's face was red and streaked with tears. "But...but why didn't you find her if you got the address?" It seemed like a tale of fiction rather than reality.

Rodney shook his head. "The address led to a space gate, with no residual radiation – which meant that the Hive had jumped a while ago. Believe me, Kat, we tried everything possible to find her – recon missions to known Wraith bases and labs, we scanned every Hive we came across before destroying it... In the end it was John's vengeance that got the better of the Wraith... his refusal to stop looking and the fact that Earth supplied us with more ships gave us the upper hand in the war, yet despite every scan for human life signs and or her subcutaneous transmitter we found nothing. John's never given up hope that one day she'll turn up somewhere we haven't looked. We were also unbelievably lucky to have Sam Carter as the replacement – if anyone from IOA had been shoved in, we wouldn't have been allowed to search for her at all."

The clearing of a throat at the door made Rodney jump. "Rodney," came John's deep voice. "We've discussed this." His tone was dangerous.

Katrina jumped up from her seat and placed herself between her uncle and her father. "Dad – don't. It was me who wanted to know. Don't get mad at Rodney for telling me."

John placed a firm hand on Katrina's shoulder. "There was a reason I didn't want you to know," he said lowly, his eyes unreadable.

Rodney's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "Don't... you can't be... why the hell didn't you... John!"

Katrina was very confused, her eyes flickering between the two men as John and Rodney had a major staring contest.

"How in the hell... what... well, aren't you going to... bloody _hell_, John... don't just _stand_ there, you _genius_, get your flyboy ass over here... I'm sorry, Katrina, but I'm afraid you'll have to leave now," Rodney said in very detached sentences.

He shooed Katrina Sheppard from the lab and closed and locked the door, sealing himself and the General inside for what seemed like eternity. Katrina, confused beyond belief, wandered back to the family quarters before the pin dropped with an echo that sounded as loud as a Mark IX blast.


	4. Of Geniuses and Ingenious Plans

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

_Of Geniuses and Ingenious Plans_

Katrina ran back towards Rodney's lab as fast as her long legs could carry her, and began hammering on the door with such force that John roared from inside, "Knock it off, Radek – you have your own lab!" Slightly indignant that her father assumed it was Dr. Zelenka who was insistent on getting inside, she kept hammering. "I mean it, Radek, don't make me come out there!" he roared again. Katrina smiled, knowing if she kept pounding on the door she'd get in eventually. The door slid open and she saw her father's livid face. "Rad-oh, Katrina. What do you want?"

"You've got to be kidding me – keeping me in the dark like this – shoving me out of the lab while you two use your nerd code to communicate – what the _hell_ is he going on about, Dad? Why won't you let me come in? Oh, believe me; I've got a fairly good idea of what you're trying to keep from me. Dad, let me come in!"

John's features relaxed slightly, but he still held his ground against his teen daughter. "No."

"No? Dad, she's my mother."

A ripping feeling in John's gut made him wince. "Yes, Kat. I know. She was my wife too." The sad expression returned and Katrina would've sworn her dad was about to let loose some tears before Rodney's voice interrupted them.

"Flyboy, get back in here – I need the gene for this..."

Katrina peered under his arm into the lab. Almost immediately the scene disappeared when John physically lifted her by her elbows and placed her across the hall. "I'm sorry, sweetie – I can't let you in yet. Tell you what – go fetch Jack and meet me here in five hours." He gave her another sad glance and rushed back into the lab, the door swiftly closing all from view.

"But..." she said too late. It was seven o'clock – in five hours it'd be midnight. She could only wonder about her father and Uncle Rodney, and wasn't prepared to force Jack to stay up with her, of all people.

She made her way to the commissary, passing Gideon Lorne and Patrick "Puck" McKay. Puck stopped her. "Kat – want to go watch Ronon and Teyla spar?"

She was shaken out of her thoughts when Puck tapped her shoulder. "Hmm?"

"Ronon and Teyla – sparring."

She shook her head at them. "You talk about it like it's a football game. Puck, I think your dad and my dad are in cahoots," she said thoughtlessly. "They won't let me in the lab."

Fourteen-year-old Gideon sniggered. "Kat, that word sounds very twentieth century," he informed her. "Wait a sec...didn't my dad go with you to the mainland today?"

Katrina nodded. "Yeah, I had a Jumper lesson... why?"

"He looked weird after you got back – like you'd said something touchy to him. What did you do?" Gideon crossed his arms and planted his feet. "Did you say something to my dad?"

Katrina pushed past him, her mind flooded with the crescendo of her father's piano masterpiece, the scene in Rodney's lab, the words exchanged between the scientist and the General, her conversation with Rodney and Evan...

Fifteen-year-old Puck placed a hand on Katrina's shoulder. She shook it off. "What?"

Puck searched for words. "Our dads are good friends... Who knows what they're up to?"

"My mom," she whispered, and her eyes welled up. She shoved past the boys again and took off running towards the gym. She found Teyla just getting ready to start a session with Ronon, and stopped her by running into her arms.

"Oh! Hello, Katrina. What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Kat sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, Teyla. Rodney told me about what happened to Mum – and now Dad and he won't let me into the lab – they were talking in phrases...it was like code or something..."

Gideon and Puck had raced after her, and both were leaning against the doorjamb, listening in on the conversation. A glare from Ronon sent them scurrying away.

"Dad wants me and Jack to meet him in front of the lab at midnight. I'm scared, Teyla. I don't know what's going on." With a glance at Ronon Teyla told him that the sparring session was canceled. Ronon walked out of the gym with a scowl on his face.

"Katrina, what happened to your mother was tragic, and I do not believe we will ever know what has become of her. I trust that if you know what happened on that day you know that we have tried every possibility there is, but with no luck. If your father wishes for your brother and you to meet with him this night at the very beginning of the day then you must. John Sheppard is not known to trick or play ill-mannered jokes on his children."

The general's daughter returned to the family quarters and sat down at the piano. She set the metronome to the four-second beat and pulled out the yellowed sheet music with the title "Tis You I Love." She had played it before when her father was on an overnight mission and when Jack had a sleep over at Gideon's or Puck's. She played it to bring back a small part of the woman she barely knew.

----

John peered at the laptop. "Rodney..."

The scientist appeared by his side in less than a second. His eyes widened exponentially. "Oh. My. God. John... John, we did it..."

John looked at the clock. It was eleven forty five.


	5. Of Friends and Family

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

_Of Friends and Family_

Katrina and Jack Sheppard had been sitting outside the lab for close to an hour; the corridor was dimly lit. Detached voices floated from McKay's lab – incoherent phrases she couldn't decode. Jack mumbled something. "Hmm?" Kat muttered.

"I said, 'why are we here?'" He glared at her.

"Because Dad wanted us to be," she replied icily to her thirteen year-old brother. "They're on to something."

"They're on to something," he mimicked quietly. "I could be _sleeping_," he complained. "Its reasons like this I'm always grumpy."

"Always eating." Kat thumped her head back against the wall. "Fifteen more minutes," she counted. She glanced at her brother again. His unruly black hair was exactly like their father's, but his eyes were a bright green and his face was more like their mother's than John's. Of the two children Katrina was more like her father in every way. They heard some footsteps from down the hall; looking into the darkness they couldn't tell who it was.

Evan Lorne came into view. "Oh, Katrina, Jack – what are you doing in the middle of the hallway?" He crossed his arms, not letting a smile overtake his features. "I happen to know that your dad won't be too pleased about this."

Katrina smiled grimly up at him. "Dad's the one who wants to see us in about fifteen minutes."

Evan's eyebrow went straight up.

Jack gave the colonel an expression that begged Evan to help him out. Evan gave a small chuckle. "Jack, if it's your dad who told you to then I'd best not interfere." He turned and began to walk away. "Good night," he called back.

----

John shivered with excitement. He couldn't breathe normally – after _eleven_ damn years... he almost forgot Rodney was hyperventilating beside him. He poked Rodney's shoulder, his eyes not leaving the computer screen.

Rodney swatted his hand away. "I know, John...I know..."

John blinked a few times. "Oh – crap – my kids are supposed to meet us in..." he checked his watch. "Now." He reluctantly tore his eyes from the screen and half jogged over to the door. He waved his hand in front of the panel and the door slid open to reveal Kat and Jack sitting against the opposite wall. "Katrina, Jack."

They leapt to their feet and Katrina began to say a million things at once.

"Kat, slow down. I know you guys are confused – but you'll understand everything by the time morning comes." Jack noticed the twinkle in his eye was back, accompanied by the excitement that had died long ago.

Change was in the air.

John sealed them inside again, and beckoned for his son and daughter to join them at the computer. It was a 3D view of the distant space as shown by one of the Lantean deep-space satellites. Katrina recognized six dots color-coded as planets, and one planet was surrounded by a halo of green.

Jack's eyes wandered through the lab, following a cord from the laptop to a dinner-plate sized square with a pad like the one controlling the Chair on it. A handprint the size of John's was resting in the middle of the gel.

"What is that, Dad?" Katrina and Jack asked in unison about the halo and pad.

Rodney grinned. "This pad is the mother of all Ancient discoveries... Your dad found this deep in the unexplored sections of the city maybe...six years ago. We worked day and night to find out what it did, with that strange feeling that it was somehow the most important thing to figure it out..."

"What does it do?" Kat asked.

The scientist could barely contain himself. "Let me start from the beginning. When the Atlantis expedition first started out, the transmitters were placed on the radios. When the Wraith figured that out, the radios were the first things to go, and we had to find some other way of tracking team members. So the subcutaneous transmitter was born – at least, the Lantean version of the SGC's. Michael learned about those too, and soon the first thing that happened when we were captured was the transmitters were cut out. We tried every form of material transmitter and they matched our every move.

"The amazing thing about Atlantis is that the Ancients thought of _everything_. We found a database logging the individual life-signatures of every human being that had set foot on the city; maybe another year and a half after John found that pad." He let them soak that up for a moment, and continued. "The pad uses the city to find any signature that is within range and, based on space sound-waves, gives the probability of a certain signature being within the margin of four percent."

Katrina, who was very smart, began to understand. John was smiling widely.

"It has taken us four and a half years to search every extension of every satellite employed. Every day, John uses his gene to upgrade the satellites through this link..." he pointed at the pad, "...and every day he checks the sensors."

John spoke quietly. "Every day following her disappearance has been another day put towards her rescue. This is the last day we sit on our asses waiting for an answer." His voice shook.

Katrina's jaw fell to the floor. Tears began to cloud her vision. "The green means...Mum...is there?"

The nod was almost imperceptible.

"Then...why hasn't...she knows where Atlantis...the Stargate...Dad?"

"There isn't one...not there."


	6. Of Atlantis and Time Lost

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

_Of Atlantis and Time Lost_

Jack couldn't speak despite how much he tried. There was complete silence in the lab for almost five minutes as the shock and realization set in. Rodney coughed. "Sam has to be told," he said. "The mission must be authorized...we can't do it without her."

Katrina wanted to cry, scream – anything to tell herself it wasn't a dream. She'd had plenty of those. "Dad...how did she get there if there's no Stargate?"

"We'll know when she's rescued." He drew his two children into an embrace.

----

Samantha Carter, content to remain a colonel of the United States Air Force, sat in her office of eleven years with a massive stack of paperwork. Sighing, she wanted to return to her quarters and sleep until noon. But it was one in the morning and she knew sleep was far away. Sam Carter knew how much Atlantis and John had loved Elizabeth and was, at first, hesitant to take the vacated position.

"Sam," Rodney said from the door, John and the teens behind him. "We have something that is more important than any amount of paperwork." Under his arm was the laptop and Ancient life-signature pad. "Trust me."

Sam looked up indignantly. "Since when have I not trusted you?" she asked. "Make it fast."

Katrina laughed at the irony.

The full-bird colonel snapped her gaze to the young girl. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously.

John interrupted. "I assure you, Sam, this will be anything but fast."

Sam's eyebrows went up.

Rodney took over, nudging Jack on his way. He set up the laptop and pad and pointed at the green halo. "Take a guess at what that means." The scientist was completely serious.

Sam puffed out her cheeks with air as she contemplated what it meant. After a minute she sat back. "I don't know, Rodney, though I suspect you'll soon tell me. Working with you for over twenty years has taught me that." Her eyes flickered from the laptop to the pad.

John cut to the chase knowing Rodney would start the technobabble if he didn't. "The green means Elizabeth Weir is on that planet."

Sam was blank for a moment. "_Our_ Elizabeth Weir?" Then she yelped. "Rodney, how can you play such a dirty trick on John and the kids? Where's your conscience?" she demanded angrily.

John blinked at her. "What are you talking about? I found her."

Rodney went on to tell Sam everything about the Ancient pad and all the trouble they went to to find Elizabeth Weir. Sam had asked why they didn't presume her dead if it was Wraith who'd taken her in the first place. John replied that his gut feeling, which was never ignored nor wrong, told him she was still alive.

"Oh. My. God," Sam said when Rodney McKay and John Sheppard had finished. Kat and Jack were half asleep on Sam's armchairs. "You really, really did it. You do realize the IOA will be pissed you didn't tell them right off," she reminded.

"It wasn't a concrete hope, Sam," Rodney protested. "How could we get everyone's hopes up when there might've been no chance at all for her rescue?"

Sam shook her head, smiling. "Am I to understand that you want this listed as standard recon with only the team knowing the real mission?"

John nodded. "In thirty-six hours I want Evan's and my teams ready to head out on Jumpers to the planet with the nearest Stargate to the green. Katrina and Jack will not be allowed to tell anyone and I want Jennifer on stand-by in case of an emergency and for a checkup when we get Liz back."

Sam's face fell minimally, but John noticed.

"What?"

"It's...it's just that eleven years is a long time, John. She might've moved on..." She saw the look on his face and immediately continued, "I'm sorry, John. It's a possibility, and someone had to say it." She glanced at Rodney. "It's better I did instead of our very valuable Rodney MCKay."

The astrophysicist's face had gone white.

John nudged him in the ribs. "I'd never, you know that. I understand," he said to Sam. "It's that I've never looked at another woman like I looked at Elizabeth. I just hope she feels the same about me."

_She does_, Rodney wanted to yell. _You're all she ever talked about._ He rested a hand on John's shoulder. "You should get some sleep after all this excitement," he said. "Besides, your kids look beat."

John thanked Samantha Carter and for a moment the colonel wished that she and Jack O'Neill had had the kind of love John and Elizabeth shared. The general shook his son and daughter awake. "Time for bed," he announced quietly.

"It was time for bed five hours ago," Katrina shot back.

"You won't worry about time when your mother is finally home," he said softly. "You won't want anything more than to know her."

The two men went to their respective quarters and for the first time in eleven years John fell asleep without playing the baby grand and had his first uninterrupted night of sleep in seven years.

Rodney couldn't have been more excited and fell asleep gazing at the pulsing green halo surrounding the small circle depicted on the farthest outskirts of Pegasus.

----

The pains in Elizabeth Sheppard's side were getting worse. The worst part wasn't that the slave master beat her or that he was a Wraith worshipper, it was that she had gone without John and her children for eleven years.

But she would rather die than give up hope.

----

John woke at nine in the morning to the gentle sounds of the baby grand. Katrina's fingers flew over the keys to the song she'd heard her father play only hours before. "Kat? What are you doing?" he asked groggily. He rubbed his eyes and rolled out of the bed.

"I'm just playing the song you wrote for Mom." She stopped and grabbed the metronome, stopping the slow four-second beat. "You know... I've imagined meeting Mum for so many years that I never realized how much it seemed like Atlantis wanted her back too. I used to think that you couldn't look at me without being reminded of her... All these years you've been taking those small steps toward finding her, and here we are – hours away from getting her back... You can't imagine how much I've wanted to know her – to have a mother to help me with the girl stuff, with teenager stuff." She looked up at her father to see tears in his eyes. "I wish I had grown up with her in my life...and I just realized last night that it had been your wish too."

They had twenty seven hours before departure.


	7. Of Rescues and Reunions

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

_Of Rescues and Reunions_

The Sheppards found the three McKays gathered in the commissary. A few minutes passed before the Lornes joined them. John took Evan aside. "Your team and mine are scheduled for a mission in twenty-four hours. Details will be provided en route – but gear up for a standard recon." He smiled. "But I have a feeling you'll be pleasantly surprised." John clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "Inform your team and we'll meet in the Jumper bay this time tomorrow."

Evan seemed slightly confused, but was used to John's mystique. He nodded once and returned to eat with Laura and Gideon.

John sat to eat across from Rodney, Katie, and Patrick McKay. Every few seconds Rodney caught John's gaze, and an unspoken sentence passed between them about Elizabeth: _We found her._

Katie finally broke the silence. "All right, you two – spit it out. You're not saying something and it's starting to annoy." She elbowed her husband in the ribs. "Come on – spit it out." Their son looked up in earnest.

The two old friends held each other's gaze one last time. John spoke. "We have a mission tomorrow. Quite last minute...we're slightly excited," he said carefully.

Katie seemed to sense John wasn't telling the whole truth, but whatever it was she let it alone. Patrick returned his attention to breakfast and the Sheppard children shared a knowing glance.

John barely spoke the remainder of the morning meal, his mind permanently fixed on the prospect of rescuing his wife after eleven years.

----

The next day, the Jumper bay was a mess of soldiers, Marines, airmen, and aliens. John, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon – only two of which still knew the real mission – were almost ready to leave. Two Jumpers were powered up and ready for flight. "Listen up," John yelled over the din. "I have an important...announcement." He stood on a small makeshift platform. "As all of you know, we're heading to a small planet on the farthest outskirts of Pegasus. It is a planet we have never been to before, and just a few minutes ago MALP telemetry came back with a barren landscape." He gave a small smile and a matching chuckle. "I know what's going through your heads – what's so special about nothing? The answer is perhaps fifteen light years from the planet itself. It is a small, life-sustaining world without the luxury of a Stargate, a planet we'll be getting to by use of the hyperspace engines equipped in these two Jumpers."

Evan interrupted. "Why would we go there if there's no 'gate?"

Rodney gave General Sheppard a reassuring glance. "Because our real mission is to mount a rescue."

"Of whom?" a young marine on Lorne's team asked.

"We have irrefutable proof that our long-lost leader is there. Our mission, gentlemen, is to find and rescue Elizabeth Weir."

The whole of the Jumper bay was in silence. Teyla's bottom lip began to tremble in a most un-Teyla-ish way, but she stilled with Ronon's hand on her shoulder. Lorne was rooted to the spot, perhaps still trying to process John's epic words.

"Are you joking?" Ronon asked angrily.

"Eleven years, John – how can you be _so_ sure? Surely you cannot be concrete in your belief," Teyla insisted, her voice wavering slightly.

John shook his head. "The particulars aren't important, and any wasted time asking questions is the less time we have to get her back. She may be in danger or worse – dying." His voice unwillingly became quiet. "You know the mission. Follow my lead and stick to the plan." He turned and walked into the Jumper, the rest of the team following stoically. Nine people would participate in the rescue mission of Elizabeth Weir.

"Good luck," Sam said as the two Jumpers shot through the event horizon toward the planet from which they'd fly to Elizabeth.

John had been right about the barren landscape. He didn't waste any time with the scenery and immediately took the ship into the sky and out of the atmosphere. Setting the coordinates and contacting Lorne to confirm the jump John shot into hyperspace. He sat back in the pilot's chair. The trip would take only a few minutes, but the general was nervous about the mission.

"Don't worry about it, John," Rodney said encouragingly.

Ronon grunted. "Why didn't you tell us right off?" he asked.

The astrophysicist swiveled to face the Satedan. "We don't have enough time to explain it all now – all you need to know is that this moment, right now, has been eleven years in the making. I promise to explain everything in layman's terms when we get back to Atlantis. But right now Elizabeth takes priority. Honestly – does it matter how we found her over the simple fact that we did?"

They dropped out of hyperspace to the magnificent view of a blue, green, and brown mottled planet. "Rodney," John asked, "Pinpoint."

McKay stared at the laptop. Before he could ask the HUD was already up with a 3D view of the planet. "East continent," he said. "Four miles from the major river north northeast of the equator." John took the Jumper down after relaying the coordinates to Evan's Jumper.

----

Elizabeth looked up into the sky after hearing a sound she hadn't in almost eleven years. Without stopping herself the tears began to roll down her cheeks. She considered leaving the water buckets to follow the sound she never thought she'd hear again.

It was the sound of a Jumper entering the atmosphere.

----

John landed the Jumper two miles from the life-signature Rodney had transferred to the life-signs detector. "Evan, I want two of your men to stand guard at the Jumpers – everyone else, with me. Only use deadly force if your life or Elizabeth's is threatened. Remember – negotiation is how we want to resolve this. Let me make one thing clear. If – and only if – I cannot retrieve her myself I authorize my team and or Evan."

Evan saluted and John led the seven towards the signal. They had landed in a clearing, and had to weave in between the trees. It was fairly quick work despite the thickness of the forest. They reached the general location of the signal within twenty five minutes. They were silent as they spread out along the tree line, Ronon's gun set to kill. "Rodney, talk to me," John said quietly into the earpiece.

"She should be just on the other side of the building," he said simply.

John had a gut feeling that it was too easy. He didn't expect the massive emotional punch to the stomach when he saw the figure – the hair – the soft features of her face as Elizabeth came around the corner of the building. For a moment he couldn't breathe. Eleven years of preparation was nowhere near enough.

But his blood boiled when another figure – burly and large, not unlike Ronon – rounded the corner and seized Elizabeth's arm, pulling her around brutally.

"Move out," John whispered hoarsely. "Deadly force is authorized, I repeat, deadly force is authorized."

Elizabeth looked towards the forest, willing to swear she'd heard a voice she hadn't in eleven years.

"John," she breathed, ignoring the man gripping her arm. "John..."


	8. Of Tears and Returning Home

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

_Of Tears and Returning Home_

"Keep quiet," the man demanded of Elizabeth. "I've had enough of you ignoring my _offer_," he said silkily. Elizabeth tried to wrench her arm away from the pig.

"I will never," she spat. "I have a husband."

The man began to laugh. "Not since you were given to me," he said back.

John could hear every word they said, his eyes clouding more each second. He took his eyes off Elizabeth when Rodney gripped his shoulder fiercely. "Let me take the shot," he asked quietly, off the radios. "Ronon will draw too much attention before he can shoot." He blocked the general's view of the long-lost leader. "You know how much I've improved since that day," he reminded, alluding to the day Elizabeth was taken. "I'm as good as you were on your first day in Afghanistan, and don't forget I've read your file. Let me take the shot," he said again slowly.

John nodded stiffly against his better wishes. "Do it. Now, before I make a mistake."

Rodney turned and aimed at the man's head. Less than a second went by before the trigger was pulled and John let out what was possibly the longest breath he'd ever held.

Elizabeth screamed. Before John Sheppard could stop himself he bolted out of the woods and stopped three feet from Elizabeth, who was brushing off her clothes. She looked up into his green eyes, lost of words, and tears flowed down her cheeks. "John..."

John's heart was hammering against his ribcage, struggling to break free. "Liz..." He didn't waste another second and pulled her into his arms, holding her tighter than he ever had before. She molded to his shape like they'd never left each other – a reminder of how long true love lasts. He wept for Elizabeth – for finally getting her back. He let the tears fall as the memories came flooding back as he smelled and kissed her hair.

John barely noticed as Rodney and the res of the team exited the forest and gazed with wonder on their long-lost leader. Despite Ronon's stoic-ness he couldn't help but let a few tears leak out. Rodney placed a hand on john's shoulder, letting the unspoken be said: _we got her back._ All those years they were only about fifteen minutes away from her. John nearly refused to let her go – afraid he'd lose her again if he wasn't holding her. Rodney squeezed John's shoulder again.

Reluctantly, the general pulled away from Elizabeth, but kept his arms around her waist. She grimaced. "I think a rib is cracked," she revealed quietly. "He beat me," she whispered, leaning heavily against John. "Get me home, John. Get me to Jennifer..."

Rodney lightly rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hello, Elizabeth," he said softly. "We never gave up."

Elizabeth smiled weakly. "Thank you..." She closed her eyes and rested her head against her husband's shoulder. "Home."

"Ronon, Evan, scout the buildings and dispatch any more residents." He hit the radio. "Peters, Johnson, bring both Jumpers to our current location." He received confirmation and John, with ease, swung Elizabeth into his arms. The back hatch opened and John sat on the bench with Elizabeth leaning against his side, his arm wrapped protectively around her. Rodney gazed fondly at the reunited couple. "Rodney, please fly us home."

The astrophysicist nodded without hesitation. "Anything." He sat in the pilot's chair and expertly too off after Teyla and Ronon boarded. The Athosian and the Satedan couldn't believe that their leader, their friend, was back.

----

They were on Atlantis less than an hour after they had left. Jennifer still had no idea she was waiting to transport Elizabeth directly to the infirmary. She waited patiently as the Jumper landed softly in front of her and was surprised to see Sam appear to her left. "Colonel! What are you doing here?"

Sam smiled mystically. "To make sure everything goes smoothly."

The hatch was opened and Jennifer cast her gaze inside. She stopped breathing when she saw who was in John's arms. "Holy Mary, mother of God," she coughed out hoarsely. "After _eleven_ god-forsaken years and now..." Her medical training kicked in. "Any injuries?"

"She may have a cracked rib. Says she was beaten." Elizabeth was asleep in John's arms, perhaps getting her first good sleep in ages. "Take care of her," he said as he laid her on the gurney.

Jennifer was still in partial shock from seeing John's wife. She strapped Elizabeth in and set off to the infirmary, John holding his wife's hand. Ronon, Teyla, Evan, and the marines cleared the hallway of civilians so no one else would know the truth of Elizabeth's return.

They made it to the infirmary and Jennifer closed the curtain around the reunited couple, as John refused to leave his wife's side. As far as John was concerned, Elizabeth's return would be quiet and gradual. An x-ray confirmed two cracked ribs and severe bruising, but nothing so severe to require surgery. Jennifer gave her a clean bill of health for a forty three year old woman. Eleven years had taken its toll.

Jennifer convinced John to talk with her without Elizabeth – though still asleep – in earshot. "I want her here overnight. No extreme visits – this shouldn't be made public until she can handle it. But when she wakes I'm sure your children will want to get to know her. I won't keep you away from her any longer."

The curtain remained drawn and it was morning before John even considered leaving her side. Rodney had brought him food and to keep him company. "I have her back, Rodney. Eleven years, and I have her _back_." He squeezed Elizabeth's hand. "I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have the comfort of knowing every day took us a little bit closer to finding her." John pressed his lips against the back of her hand.

Rodney patted his friend's shoulder. "Keep her safe, although I don't have to tell you. Let me know when she wakes. Eleven years is a long time for everyone." He left and ran into Katie on his way back to his lab.

"Why are you spending so much time in the infirmary, Rodney? I thought you overcame the hypochondria years ago." She placed her hands on her hips.

Rodney gulped. "You'll find out soon enough," he said cryptically. They went to his lab and he worked aimlessly, his mind fixed on Elizabeth and John.

Elizabeth's fingers curled around John's. The general kissed her hand again. "Liz," he said softly as she slowly awoke. "You're safe – home." She blinked several times and gazed up into his deep hazel eyes.

"John...where am I?"

"You're on Atlantis, in the infirmary. Jennifer patched up two cracked ribs. I can take you home today. Elizabeth, you can meet our children. They've grown up so much, love. Our children have their mother back, Liz... You're home." He stroked her cheek and leaned over her, giving her their first kiss in eleven years.


	9. Of the Metronome and the Baby Grand

**Baby Grand by AndromedaMarine**

**Author's Note: I'm very sorry about the month-long hiatus – I had a ton of things to do and this wasn't anywhere near the top of the list... Anyway, this is the last chapter.**

_Of the Metronome and the Baby Grand_

No one but Sam, Jennifer, the teams that rescued Elizabeth, and the immediate nursing staff knew that their long-lost leader had returned. It was midday before Jennifer actually released Elizabeth from the infirmary, given strict orders to stay in bed until her ribs were at least partially healed. John helped his wife into a wheelchair and they rolled out of the infirmary towards their quarters.

Katrina and Jack had been told to remain in their shared room until their father asked them to come out. The doors to their quarters swished open and a flood of memories came upon Elizabeth Sheppard. Tears stained her cheeks, but a smile was on her face. "John...everything's coming back! The piano...the metronome...our song..." Before John could stop her she lifted herself from the wheelchair and slid onto the piano bench. Her slender fingers hovered over the ivory keys, hesitating from disuse. It took her a moment but she plunged into a song so beautiful that John slumped to the bed and covered his eyes.

Elizabeth's fingers swept across the keys with an ease she'd never forgotten in a song that she'd composed while in captivity.

The last note trembled with finality. Elizabeth's head fell forward and she was still, breathing evenly. "John, this is us. This is who we are." She slid around to face him, still sitting. "This isn't a dream, a joke, or a cruelly different reality. This is now. I'm back – I have you back – I have our family...back..."

John stood and covered the distance between them in less than a second. He drew her up into his arms and held her as tightly as he could without hurting her ribs. "I know, Liz. And it's time to meet your children. Our children." He called out to their kids' door. "Katrina, Jack, please come out now."

The door slid open quite quickly, revealing Katrina and Jack standing stock still, their mouths agape and their eyes wide. Katrina took a tentative step forward, Jack right behind her. "M..Mum?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "Katrina. It has been too long."

With that her daughter rushed forward and enveloped her mother in a hug. Jack stood where he was.

"Jack," John said. "You need not be afraid."

The younger child grinned nervously and stepped towards his reunited parents. "Hi, Mum," he said, and Elizabeth took him in her arms.

They were a true family again.

**----**

**One Year Later**

The day after the meeting with her family Elizabeth's return had been made public to all of Atlantis. Katie whapped Rodney over the head for not telling her right off, but grinned as she did so. Laura couldn't believe that Evan hadn't said anything either, but burst into tears anyway. Elizabeth agreed to let Sam stay civilian leader on Atlantis until such a time that Earth and the IOA could be contacted.

Elizabeth stood with John by her side as the wormhole opened to Earth. They had been reunited for a year, and this was her first return to Earth. The IOA still had no idea that she was back, and the general's wife was quite happy to let Sam run the city while she caught up with her family. Katrina, now sixteen, stood behind her parents with an irritable Jack beside her. Sam descended the glowing steps from the control room and joined the Sheppards.

"Well, it's time that Earth knows you're back," she said simply to Elizabeth. "Let's go, shall we? I'm sure General Mitchell will be thrilled. Oh! And General O'Neill has agreed to make an appearance... I'm not sure if it's because of you," she said to John, "or if he's just visiting Colorado Springs and knows we're coming in." She grinned widely and strode forward into the event horizon. John gripped Elizabeth's hand tightly.

"It's time," he said, and herded his kids in front of them.

Atlantis disappeared as they were enveloped in the cool blue of the wormhole, and suddenly the SGC appeared before them and Generals Mitchell and O'Neill stood with their jaws resting on the cold, hard cement floor. Sam walked straight up to Jack O'Neill and tightly hugged him. Right after Elizabeth's return she'd decided that she couldn't wait any longer for Jack to make the first move – they really did belong together.

"Jack, Cameron, I hope you remember Elizabeth Sheppard, John, and their two kids?" She grinned and watched with amusement as O'Neill and Cameron couldn't say anything.

"General O'Neill, General Mitchell," Elizabeth said softly. "I believe your briefing room is much more comfortable." With her hand in John's she walked right past them towards the stairs, briefly noticing Walter Harriman's astounded gaze follow her the entire way. Jack and Katrina Sheppard followed their parents and Sam led the other two generals.

Elizabeth sat beside her husband and children. "One year ago I was rescued from captivity," she said simply. "I'd spent eleven years in slavery to a Wraith-worshipper, never giving up hope that one day John and Rodney would find me. And they did."

----

_The metronome went back and forth, recording each second they were finally together. Their fingers flew over the ivory piano keys, a symphony duet of happiness and love; the only relaxing thing they could do to remember what had given them hope. How could they truly remember how long they'd gone without if they didn't honor what she'd given their family? The baby grand in their enlarged family quarters was a wedding present – one that they now spent each night playing to stay close together. Two children, represented by the ends of the metronome's path, were both the beginning and the end. They were finally together._

_It was on a slow repetition, for the slow song that represented who they are as husband and wife, ticking back and forth as if each second had been extended into four, drawing the tears of happiness and reminders from their eyes onto their cheeks. This was who they were now – their family had been reunited. The Sheppards had come together. _

_Yet when John thought of every one thing that'd kept him sane during the eleven years he was without his wife, the manifestation was in the form of the metronome and the baby grand._

_She was home._


End file.
